A motor vehicle is intended to be controlled in an automated manner on a road network. In such case, a so-called driver assistant may be used, which supports a specific function of the motor vehicle, or the motor vehicle may be controlled autonomously, i.e. controlled automatically without the input or without the monitoring of a driver. The automatic control may include, in particular, a longitudinal control or a lateral control.
Normally, a position of the motor vehicle is determined with the aid of a positioning system, such as of a receiver for satellite navigation (for example, GPS) and locally applicable requirements are determined based on the determined position. One such requirement may, for example, relate to the question whether right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic is prevalent in the prevailing traffic system. Another requirement may, for example, relate to a maximum allowed driving speed of the motor vehicle. For this purpose, it may be necessary to determine a road class of the road on which the motor vehicle is located.
If a position determination with the aid of the positioning device is not possible, for example, in a tunnel or in a street canyon, then the determination of locally applicable requirements for controlling the motor vehicle may be limited.
US 2013/0162824 A1 provides for the detection of an object in the area of the motor vehicle for determining the position of the object on a road map and thereafter determining the position of the motor vehicle.
US 2006/0233424 A1 relates to the determination of a position on the basis of road features whose positions are known.